Oct 18 - Mar 01

CREATING MUSICAL THEATER: A COLLABORATIVE LAB

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Taught by Stormy SacksTuition $500, 20 sessionsScholarships AvailableOpen to high school and college age studentsTuesday Evenings 7:30 – 9:30pmSPACES ARE STILL AVAILABLE

The course will teach students the fundamentals of creating an original musical stage play through the discipline of collaboration.

Class size will be limited to no more than twelve students – four in each of three self-identified categories: composers, lyricists, librettists (book/story writers). They will form four collaborative groups, each of which will create an original 10 minute musical play. Students will then work with a professional director and cast their show with professional actors. The students, director, and actors will then rehearse and refine the work to be brought to the stage. The student pieces will be performed at the end of the course at The Wallis. The student work will also be submitted to “Show Search,” a program of the Foundation for New American Musicals.

Students will learn the fundamentals of the art form and study the work of important artists in musical theater. In addition to their regular instructor, students will also interact with a range of musical theater artists performing at The Wallis, including the creative team behind The Wallis production of “Merrily We Roll Along” by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth. Students will also participate in events as part of the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop with Stephen Schwartz February 1-3 at The Wallis.

This course will start on Tuesday evening, October 18th with approximately 17 sessions (mostly on Tuesday nights, with some weekends) plus special events with select companies and artists at The Wallis. It will culminate in March, 2017, with a showcase performance of student work.

We are looking for young artists who are highly committed and interested in this particular area of study. A brief application is required, followed by interviews at The Wallis. It is important to discuss with these candidates their openness to collaboration and potential changes in their work, and to witness their communication skills.

The tuition for this course is $600. The Wallis is pleased to offer scholarships to students who need financial assistance. To be considered, a parent or guardian should submit a letter to The Wallis explaining the financial hardship and requesting specific monetary support. These will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Mr. Sacks is a Grammy Nominated composer/producer. He has conducted and written orchestrations for more than fifty symphony orchestras in North America and Japan and has composed the music for television shows, including "Hollywood Squares," NBC's "Caesar's Challenge," "ABC After School Specials," and the CBS Late Night series "Personals," on which he appeared nightly.

In addition to being the composer, orchestrator and Musical Director for Jimmy Nederlander’s Limited Engagement musical “Lambchop on Broadway” at the Richard Rogers Theatre in New York, Mr. Sacks has served as Musical Director for productions of numerous musicals including “A Chorus Line,” “AIDA,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Beauty And The Beast” “Chicago,” “Fame,” “Fiddler On The Roof,” “Grease,” “Gypsy,” “In The Heights,” “Man of La Mancha,” “Oklahoma,” “RENT,” “Sony Pictures Broadway,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “The Who’s TOMMY,” and “West Side Story.” In the past years he has created, produced and musically directed ten full length theatrical reviews: “One Night Only,” “Magic To Do,” “HairDo ‘N Blue,” “Wintertime In Oz,” “A Rising Star,” “These Are A Few Of My Favorite Songs,” “Cards,” “More Magic To Do,” “More Magic To Do, Two,” and “’TisThe Season.”

In 2011, Mr. Sacks produced, orchestrated and musically directed the world premiere stage production of “Moulin Rouge – Live & In Hollywood” – based on the acclaimed Baz Luhrmann movie. In 2016 he received the Ed Lester Lifetime Achievement Award at the THE 5TH ANNUAL JERRY HERMAN AWARDS, a celebration of the achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre in Los Angeles.